U.S. patent number 5,749,056 [Application Number 08/522,200] was granted by the patent office on 1998-05-05 for audio ramping technique for a radio.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Motorola, Inc.. Invention is credited to Audley F. Patterson, Hector E. Suarez, Craig P. Wadin.
United States Patent |
5,749,056 |
Patterson , et al. |
May 5, 1998 |
Audio ramping technique for a radio
Abstract
An audio ramping technique (200) reduces acoustic shock in radio
(100) that has multiple operating modes each having a different
nominal audio speaker level. The ramping technique (200) sets the
audio speaker level to the same initial sound pressure level (SPL)
(208) regardless of the mode of radio operation and then ramps the
audio level (216) until either a user initiated control signal
(212) is received or the audio level reaches a maximum threshold
level (210).
Inventors: |
Patterson; Audley F. (Miramar,
FL), Suarez; Hector E. (Miami, FL), Wadin; Craig P.
(Sunrise, FL) |
Assignee: |
Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
24079875 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/522,200 |
Filed: |
August 31, 1995 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/569.1;
381/107; 455/200.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03G
3/20 (20130101); H04M 1/6016 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H03G
3/20 (20060101); H04B 001/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;455/89,54.1,56.1,177.1,200.1,355,568,569,575 ;379/58,390
;381/104,107 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Urban; Edward F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Doutre; Barbara R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A radio providing first and second operating modes each having
different nominal audio speaker levels, including:
a controller for enabling either the first or second operating
modes, said controller increasing the audio speaker level of each
of the first and second operating modes from a similar
predetermined level at a similar predetermined rate;
a speaker operatively coupled to the controller for generating the
audio speaker level; and
a keypad coupled to the controller for providing a user initiated
control signal to the controller, said controller ceasing to
increase the audio speaker level in response to the user initiated
control signal, and the controller maintaining the audio speaker
level in response to the user initiated control.
2. A radio as described in claim 1, wherein the controller compares
the audio speaker level to a predetermined maximum threshold and
automatically ceases increasing the audio speaker level in response
to the audio speaker level reaching the predetermined maximum
threshold.
3. A radio as described in claim 2, wherein the first operating
mode is a dispatch mode and the second operating mode is a phone
interconnect mode.
4. A radio as described in claim 1, wherein the controller
maintains the audio speaker level until the controller switches the
first or second operating modes at which time the audio speaker
level is automatically set back to the similar predetermined
level.
5. A method of controlling speaker volume in a radio having a
plurality of operating modes where each operating mode has its own
respective nominal audio speaker level, comprising the steps
of:
initiating one of the plurality of operating modes at the
radio;
receiving audio at the radio at a predetermined level, regardless
of the operating mode;
determining if a user initiated control signal has been
generated;
ramping the audio at a predetermined rate if no user initiated
control signal was generated;
determining throughout the step of ramping if a user initiated
control signal has been generated;
ceasing the step of ramping if the user initiated control signal
has been generated; and
maintaining the audio at a level set during the step of
ceasing.
6. A method of controlling speaker volume in a radio as described
in claim 5, wherein the step of ramping further includes the steps
of:
determining the audio level of the received audio;
comparing the audio level to a predetermined maximum threshold;
and
terminating the step of ramping when the audio level reaches the
predetermined maximum threshold.
7. A method of controlling speaker volume in a radio as described
in claim 5, wherein the plurality of operating modes includes a
phone interconnect mode and a dispatch mode.
8. A method of controlling speaker volume as described in claim 5,
further comprising the step of automatically setting the audio back
to the predetermined level when another of the plurality of
operating modes is initiated.
9. A method of controlling speaker volume level in a radio having a
dispatch mode of operation and a phone interconnect mode of
operation, comprising the steps of:
initiating either the dispatch mode of operation or the
interconnect mode of operation;
receiving audio at a predetermined audio level;
comparing the audio level to a predetermined maximum threshold;
increasing the audio level at a predetermined rate when the audio
level does not exceed the predetermined maximum threshold;
determining if the audio level has reached a desired volume;
enabling a user initiated control once the desired volume is
determined;
terminating the step of increasing the audio level once the
predetermined maximum threshold has been reached or the audio level
has reached the desired volume; and
maintaining the audio level once the predetermined maximum
threshold has been reached or the audio level has reached the
desired volume.
10. A method of controlling speaker volume as described in claim 9,
wherein the step of terminating includes the steps of:
automatically ceasing the step of increasing the audio level when
the maximum predetermined threshold has been reached; and
enabling a user initiated control signal to terminate the step of
increasing the audio level when the audio level has reached a
desired volume.
11. A method of controlling speaker volume as described in claim 9,
further comprising the step of automatically setting the audio
level back to the predetermined audio level when the radio switches
from a dispatch mode of operation to a phone interconnect mode of
operation or when the radio switches from a phone interconnect mode
of operation to a dispatch mode of operation.
12. A method of controlling speaker volume level in a radio having
a dispatch mode of operation and a phone interconnect mode of
operation, comprising the steps of:
initiating either the dispatch mode of operation or the
interconnect mode of operation;
receiving audio at a predetermined audio level;
determining the mode of operation of the radio;
comparing the audio level to a first predetermined maximum
threshold if the dispatch mode of operation is determined;
comparing the audio level to a second predetermined maximum
threshold if the phone interconnect mode of operation is
determined;
increasing the audio level at a predetermined rate when the audio
level does not exceed the first predetermined maximum threshold in
the dispatch mode of operation;
increasing the audio level at the predetermined rate when the audio
level does not exceed the second predetermined maximum threshold in
the phone interconnect mode of operation;
determining if the audio level has reached a desired volume;
terminating the step of increasing the audio level by a user
initiated control once the audio level has reached the desired
volume or the first predetermined maximum threshold has been
reached in the dispatch mode of operation or the second
predetermined maximum threshold has been reached in the phone
interconnect mode of operation; and
maintaining the audio level achieved at the step of
terminating.
13. A method of controlling speaker volume as described in claim
12, further comprising the step of automatically setting the audio
to the predetermined audio level when the dispatch mode of
operation is switched to the phone interconnect mode of operation
or the phone interconnect mode of operation is switched to the
dispatch mode of operation.
14. A method of controlling speaker volume level in a radio having
a dispatch mode of operation and a phone interconnect mode of
operation, comprising the steps of:
initiating either the dispatch mode of operation or the
interconnect mode of operation;
receiving audio at a predetermined audio level;
comparing the audio level to a predetermined maximum threshold;
increasing the audio level at a predetermined rate when the audio
level does not exceed the predetermined maximum threshold;
initiating a user control signal once a desired volume level is
achieved; and
maintaining the audio level once the predetermined maximum
threshold has been reached or the audio level has reached the
desired volume level.
15. A method of controlling speaker volume as described in claim
14, further comprising the step of automatically setting the audio
level to the predetermined audio level when the dispatch mode of
operation is switched to the phone interconnect mode of operation
or the phone interconnect mode of operation is switched to the
dispatch mode of operation.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates in general to communication devices and more
specifically to the control of audio ramping in radios.
BACKGROUND
Today's radios provide more operating features than ever before. An
example of a new operating feature is the combination of two-way
radio (half duplex) and telephone (full duplex) into a single
communication device, such as a mobile radio, subscriber unit, or
handset. By providing these two operating features in a single
communication device, the user can select the operating mode of
his/her choice. For example, a fire fighter can make contact with
other individuals within a trunked operating system using a
dispatch mode of operation and then switch to a phone interconnect
mode of operation to make phone calls, such as to a hospital or
outside office, without having to switch communication devices.
Thus, the need of searching for a telephone at the sight of an
accident or the need to carry a cellular telephone as well as a two
way radio is eliminated.
Radios having different operating modes, such as the dispatch mode
and the phone interconnect mode, are likely to have different
nominal speaker audio levels for each mode. When a subscriber unit
is used in the dispatch mode, the speaker volume level is generally
defaulted to a sound pressure level which translates to a much
higher level when the subscriber unit is coupled closely to the
user's ear. Inexperienced users may inadvertently use a radio
without verifying its mode of operation and be subjected to a high
dispatch level of audio at the ear. Accordingly, there is a need
for a technique that controls speaker volume level in a radio
having operating modes with different nominal speaker audio
levels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a radio in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the audio ramping technique in
accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a
radio 100 having first and second operating modes in accordance
with the present invention. Radio 100 includes a transmitter 102,
and receiver 104 which are selectively coupled to an antenna 106,
via antenna switch 108. Receiver 104, transmitter 102 and antenna
switch 108 are under the control of controller 110 which stores and
executes control software. A speaker 112 is coupled to an audio
section 114 in order to provide received electrical signals as
audio to the user. Microphone 116 is coupled to audio section 114
in order to convert the user's voice into electrical signals usable
to the controller 110 and transmitter 102. Audio section 114
controls such functions as the microphone gain of microphone 116
and the audio attenuation and amplification for the speaker 112.
Keypad 120 is coupled to the controller 110 and allows the user to
enable and disable operating features of the radio 100.
In accordance with the present invention, the first operating mode,
enabled by controller 110 preferably through keypad 120, places the
radio 100 in a dispatch mode of operation where the radio functions
as a two-way half-duplex radio in a trunked system. The second mode
of operation, similarly enabled, places the radio in a phone
interconnect mode that allows the user to employ the radio as a
cellular telephone. In accordance with the present invention, once
radio operation is initiated in either the dispatch mode or the
phone interconnect mode, the receive audio at speaker 112 is set to
a predetermined level. Regardless of the mode of operation, the
receive audio is set to the same predetermined level and then
ramped up at a predetermined rate until a user initiated control
signal indicates that the ramping should cease. The user initiated
control signal is preferably generated through the keypad 120,
indicating to the controller 110 that the sound pressure level has
reached a comfortable level for the user and that the ramping
should cease. Once the audio ramping ceases, the audio section 114
and controller 110 maintain the current audio level at speaker 112.
The controller 110 also monitors the level of the audio at speaker
112 as it is being increased and compares this level to a
predetermined maximum threshold, preferably stored in controller
110. If the audio level reaches the predetermined maximum threshold
during the ramping process, the controller 110 terminates the
ramping process and maintains the current maximum audio level.
The radio 100 as described by the invention uses the controller 110
and audio section 114 to initially set the speaker audio level to
the same predetermined level regardless of the mode of operation of
the radio and automatically increases the audio level at the same
predetermined rate. The user can simply press a key of the keypad
120, for example the mute key, in order to maintain the speaker
audio level or let the volume increase to its maximum threshold.
The predetermined audio setting is preferably initiated at a low
level, such as 50 dB-SPL next to the ear, and then ramped up at a
predetermined rate from this level. In this way, a user picking up
a radio enabled in the dispatch mode and inadvertently placing it
next to his/her ear will only be subjected to an initial level of
50 dB-SPL. Hence, regardless of the mode of operation with which
the radio is initiated, the possibility of the user being subjected
to high levels of audio is greatly reduced.
Referring now to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, there is
shown a flowchart of an audio ramping technique 200 in accordance
with the present invention. In this preferred embodiment of the
invention, the mute key of radio 100 is being used as the user
initiated control signal to the controller 110, however, one
skilled in the art can realize that a different function key can be
used as well. The ramping technique starts at step 202 and checks
for an initiation of either a dispatch mode of operation or a phone
interconnect mode of operation at step 204. When either of these
operating modes is initiated at step 204 and audio is received at
step 206, the speaker audio level is automatically set to a
predetermined level at step 208. Step 208 sets the speaker audio
level to the same predetermined level regardless of the mode of
operation. The speaker audio level is then compared to a
predetermined maximum threshold at step 210. If the maximum
threshold has not been exceeded at step 210, the controller
monitors the mute key for activation at step 212. An activation of
the mute key at step 212 indicates that the speaker audio level has
reached a desired level that is comfortable for the user. If the
mute key is not activated at step 212, the audio level is
automatically ramped by increasing the audio level by a
predetermined amount at step 216. The increased audio level is then
compared to the maximum threshold at step 210. If the speaker audio
level at step 210 reaches the maximum threshold indicating that a
maximum speaker volume has been achieved, the audio ramping ceases,
and the volume level is maintained at step 214. When a user
activates the mute key indicating that a desired level of audio has
been achieved at step 212, the audio ramping ceases and the volume
level is maintained at step 214. Once the ramping ceases, the
volume level is maintained at step 214 until the termination of the
currently enabled operating mode is determined at step 218 which
ends the audio ramping technique at step 220.
Hence, the audio ramping technique 200, as described by the
invention, sets the speaker volume of a radio to a predetermined
level, regardless of the mode of operation, and then automatically
starts increasing the volume level until a user initiated control
signal indicates that the desired volume is achieved or the audio
level exceeds a predetermined maximum threshold. An example of the
audio ramping technique of the present invention is to program the
audio level at the speaker to measure approximately 50 dB-SPL at
approximately one foot away from a user's head regardless of any
previous volume settings or the mode of operation. The speaker
volume can then be increased at a predetermined rate, such as 6
dB-SPL per second, during the ramping process. While the ramping
takes place, the mute key (or other predetermined function key) is
monitored by controller 110 for activation. If activation of the
mute key is detected, the audio ramping process stops, and the
speaker remains at the current SPL level. If the mute key is not
activated, the ramping process will stop once a preset maximum
volume has been reached.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention describes the
maximum volume level as being set to the same threshold regardless
of the mode of operation at step 210, an alternate embodiment could
set different maximum threshold levels if desired. This alternate
embodiment of the ramping technique could set separate maximum
thresholds at step 210 based on which operating mode was initiated
at step 204. This would allow the volume to be automatically ramped
from the same level but up to different maximum levels. Hence, a
radio in a dispatch mode of operation could be ramped up to a
higher maximum volume than the same radio in a telephone
interconnect mode. Both embodiments of the ramping technique
described by the invention still encompass the concept of
automatically ramping the audio from a predetermined level,
regardless of the radio operating mode, until the user indicates
that the volume has reached a desired level or the audio level has
reached a maximum predetermined threshold.
Accordingly, there has been described a radio and audio ramping
technique that reduces the potential for a user to be subjected to
high levels of audio in a radio having operating modes with
different optimum speaker audio levels. While the audio ramping
technique has been described in terms of a radio having two
operating modes with each mode having a different nominal volume
setting, one skilled in the art realizes that the audio ramping
technique as described by the invention extends to radio
applications having more than two operating modes where each mode
has a different nominal volume setting.
Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and
equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as
defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *